What if one of the most famous musicians in the world died in the 1960s and the public never realised?

For decades a corner of the conspirasphere has insisted that Paul McCartney didn’t survive the height of The Beatles. According to the story he died in a car crash in 1966 and was quietly replaced by a look-alike. A man some believers claim was called Billy Shears.

It sounds ridiculous. And yet the theory has refused to die.

In this brand new 14 part Deep Dive we take the most detailed modern version of the claim, Billy’s Back, an abridged version of The Memoirs of Billy Shears, and use it as a springboard to investigate the whole thing properly.

We go through the claims piece by piece. The supposed clues in album artwork, lyrics and interviews. The timeline the theory relies on. The people who helped spread it in the first place. And some of the modern voices in the conspirasphere who still promote it today.

Along the way we also dig into where the story actually came from and how a rumour from the late 60s managed to evolve into a fully fledged conspiracy theory that still circulates today.

Patreon supporters can listen to the entire series right now. All 14 episodes are available.

PATREON.COM/SOMEDARECALLITCONSPIRACY

If you listen on Apple, Spotify or the public feed the series starts this week and will roll out weekly over the next 13 weeks.